


Deaf Forever

by ukenceto



Series: Love beyond the bones [14]
Category: Gears of War (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25392214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ukenceto/pseuds/ukenceto
Summary: The Swarm had not just threatened his world, it had nearly taken his father away forever. JD isn't going to let the same happen to the rest of his family.(Alternatively: JD being handy with a knife is probably genetic  (◡‿◡✿)ノ)
Relationships: James "JD" Fenix/Delmont "Del" Walker
Series: Love beyond the bones [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1025247
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Deaf Forever

***

* * *

The first time it happens, it’s instinct, really.

They’re in the middle of a firefight, at Tollen; there’s mist everywhere, the wind howling loud enough to deafen.

He sees it a split-second before it’s too late.

A grotesque, mangled form lunging from behind a pillar, having sneaked through their defenses from the side, the massive creature moving faster than its built would suggest.

The lancer in his hand clicks empty, the barrel still red-hot from the barrage of bullets he’d just sent out into the Snatcher nearby.

Without the time to think, not even a passing thought to change the clip, he’s seeing red.

It’s all a blur from there, lasting simultaneously hours and no more than a couple of seconds.

He’s standing over the creature, his arm still reverberating with the power of the impact, the strength that had been necessary for him to embed the jagged blade of his combat knife into the monster’s skull all the way down to the hilt.

For a moment, the world is deadly quiet.

Then all sound and motion returns, the weight of the knife heavy in his hand as he pulls it free, dark blood dripping on the ground in an ugly arch as the drone drops down like a heap of rubble.

There’s gunpowder smoke in the air, mixing with the droplets of water falling from the overcast skies above.

Marcus’ lancer rattles its deadly crescendo somewhere behind him, but all JD can focus on now is Del.

Del, who’s less than a few inches away from the dead drone, frozen, staring back at it. The short slab of concrete he’s hunkered behind is wide enough to fit them both, so JD wastes no time slamming his back to it as well, his pulse hammering loud in his throat.

Had he taken the time to think, to choose between options, his friend would’ve surely been gone, and they both knew it.

Glancing over the cover, JD watches as the last remaining enemy succumbs to the relentless fire from Marcus’ gun, signaling the abrupt end of a fight that had begun just as suddenly.

Only when his lungs begun to burn and the edges of his vision darken, does he remember to start breathing again.

“Hey, hey JD – stay with me, alright?” Del’s voice comes muted through the ringing in his ears, but then his face is inches away from JD’s, his eyes wide with worry.

Hands are patting over his body, shoulders, neck, down to his arms, the strip under his chest plate, his thighs, his legs. Del doesn’t seem to find any injuries, so he pauses, still hunched close enough for JD to feel the warmth of his breath reaching his skin.

“I’m—I’m ok. It’s nothing Del, I’m fine.” He manages to speak, but his shaky voice betrays his inner state. Looking down at his hands, they’re trembling as well – though the vice-like grip he has over the knife still hasn’t weakened.

“This, is not fine.” Del’s grabbed onto his empty hand, holding it between both of his palms until the shaking subsides a little.

JD doesn’t care about the drone he’d just killed, not more than any of the other piles of Swarm bodies they’d left behind since the night the village was attacked. The fact that he’d had it in him to finish it off so decisively was no more than a footnote in the lines of his thoughts; no, the way his body had responded was due to something else entirely.

Heavy footsteps approached them, and JD looked up in time to see the uncertain expression which crossed his father’s features, a moment before his face slipped back to the usual slight frown. Still, he grabbed the hand which was extended to him, thankful for the help since his legs took a moment longer to cooperate than what he would have liked.

“Clean kill. Just be careful trying this next time. The locust used to strike back.” Marcus says then, nodding at the blade in JD’s hand.

Frowning, he uses the overgrown vines on one column to wipe away the gore before sheathing it back. Kait’s standing next to Marcus, and just nods in his direction as well.

He should’ve expected as much. After all, it was Reyna who had always preferred something sharp to a firearm of any kind; the reaction shouldn’t have been a surprise to him since Kait had picked her mother’s machete as well. Yet it was hardly a thing he’d consciously thought to do, despite that the COG academy training had included close quarters combat too. 

“It was uh, a close call.” He finally says, glancing back at Del, who’d fallen unusually quiet.

“We shouldn’t linger. It’s too open out here.” Marcus adds, though he doesn’t seem as tone deaf to the situation as his words would suggest. Simply cautious.

“Yeah, let’s keep going.” JD has to agree, feeling uneasy between the old concrete, the cracks in it having exposed the skeleton of the dam’s construction to the elements since who knows how long ago. The metal had lost its original color to a dense coat of rust, the occasional gush of wind making everything creak ominously.

As they start walking, a shiver runs down JD’s spine, that has nothing to do with the cold.

They make their way up to the next level without encountering any more enemies, but everyone is still alert, knowing there’s still something lurking in the place – it lacks what one would call a feeling of emptiness, despite that the rooms they pass through hold nothing but broken furniture and the occasional body, reduced to bone dust and mangled armor.

Passing by those quietly, JD thinks on his father’s words when he had asked about the siege. The place seemed haunting to him, despite that he’d basically grown around ruins. But he could only guess at the kind of ghosts it brought up in Marcus’ mind.

As they went deeper into the complex, the signs of a desperate last stand became more obvious. The struggle of the Gears who’d been left to defend the COG’s last power plant hadn’t been paid directly in bullets and blood.

He’d stumbled upon a note describing the distribution of the few available rations, water, ammunition. Scribbled with the increasing resignation the writer had grown for their joined fate. JD couldn’t even imagine what losing the last bit of one’s hope felt like.

He’d crumpled the note in his hand before anyone else could see what he was looking at. Marcus was even more quiet than usual, barely glancing at their surroundings before continuing ahead, keeping point.

Del seemed lost in thought as well, but still somewhat curious whenever they’d pass by a control hub or any kind of technology – JD knew he loved those old things, and that not many such electronics had been left after the Locust war, not even in museums.

Still, when even a room full of still-flickering computer displays didn’t warrant more than a brief pause and a hum, JD knew something was up.

And, he could honestly warrant a guess.

Sighing, he fell in step with Del, the two of them walking carefully as the floor was covered in thick cables snaking over grated panels that were distorted at more than one place, giving a glimpse to the dark bowels of the facility’s inner grid.

“I’d do it again, if I have to, you know.” JD cringed a bit at how brazen he sounded, since that hadn’t been his intention. But the words were true nonetheless. There had been something raw and personal in that kill, that execution basically, and looking within himself he knew that it had brought him satisfaction. Stealing the life of even one piece of the Swarm, but most of all knowing he had thus protected the man he loved.

“Yeah, I think I believe you.” Del said, his voice serious. Pausing, he turned to JD, kindness adorning his expression even amidst all the desolation which surrounded them. He had a few scratches that made him look a bit rough around the edges, but his eyes were the same as JD had always known, a beautiful vivid green, like a lake in the summer. “It’s just… huh, seeing you do it was something else, you know? And it was clear you wouldn’t have hesitated if there were more of those bastards around me. But I needed time to process this stuff a bit.” 

“Soo… It’s alright? We’re alright?” JD had stopped walking as well, but noticed that Kait still lingered a few steps behind, giving them space.

“Yep, we are. And I mean hell, even Marcus was chill with it.” Del chuckled, his hand reaching to rub at the back of his neck. “Still pretty savage though, you gotta admit.”

“Guess so, especially since I really had to put my shoulder in it.” JD shrugged, but he was already grinning. It was a terrible place or a thing to laugh about, but here they were. Probably the pressure of the last couple of days was finally taking its toll, but as he struggled to keep his voice from alerting potential enemies in the whole area they were here, JD stepped forward.

Arms wrapping around Del, he pulled him as close as the armor could allow them, one hand on his waist and the other wrapped around his back. Feeling him return the embrace in silence, JD shut his eyes tightly. He was so grateful. So immensely grateful that even though their world had turned on its head once again, not that long since the riots as well, they were still in it together.

That Del was alive by his side, even with everything that the Swarm had thrown at them so far.

JD had made a promise to him, a long time ago, when they had been just kids.

A promise he’d silently given again and again since, vowing to keep him safe no matter what. And he would pay any cost in blood to make true on it.

At this point, it was an instinct, really.

***

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from the eponymous track by Motörhead. 
> 
> I really like trying to logically incorporate game mechanics into the narrative without them breaking characterization


End file.
